An ANBU's mask
by Karu-DarkAngel
Summary: There are many legends surrounding the infamous ANBU of Konoha Gakure and their masks... but the truth is another matter entirely. Mention of various pairings.
1. Masks

_A/N: Whatever Kishimoto does, I will always love Naruto (or at least the concept of the ninja world established in the manga). So this will be a kind of homage to the best shinobi of them all, the legendary ANBU. Following will be drabbles about the various ANBU masks and the people that they belonged to. _

_I don't own anything and I don't earn anything either. This is fiction. Enjoy._

* * *

><p><strong>An ANBU's mask<strong>

Most ordinary shinobi simply thought that the masks of Konohas infamous ANBU were used to conceal the true identities of the ninja wearing them. It seemed to be common knowledge that the Black Ops of the Leaf hid their faces both to protect anyone who might catch a glimpse of them and also themselves.

Most ordinary shinobi however didn't know that there was more to the filigree porcelain masks than the need to protect secret agents from being recognized and civilians from being slaughtered for they had seen something they hadn't been supposed to see.

An ANBU's mask was their most prized possession, more so even than the handmade one-of-a-kind Katana they carried on their backs.

Much like their swords an ANBU's mask was an unique item and it belonged to its owner until said member of Konoha's Black Ops retired or died in the execution of their order - though it was a common joke among the Leaf's elite that one _never_ retired from ANBU.

The oldest masks still in use were more than half a century old and had seen more owners than Konoha's Ninja Academy had students. They had been used in times of war and times of peace, in negotiation, in stealth, in assassination and in slaughter - and still even a seasoned ANBU veteran would have had problems distinguishing a few day old from a sixty year old mask.

They were passed from one shinobi to another, most remaining with the family that had first worn them for generations to come and some never touched again when the clan they used to belong to ceased to exist.

Father to son, mother to daughter, sister to brother, teacher to student... receiving the ageless mask that marked young shinobi as Konoha's _elite_ was always viewed as an honor, the fragile looking piece of porcelain treasured as something that could never be replaced. If a mask was lost, broke - something that was nearly unheard of in living memory and considered a sign of _disgrace_ - or was damaged in a way that made repair impossible, it and the codename coming along with it were lost forever, never to be used again by any ANBU with as much as a shred of dignity.

...because an ANBU's mask was more than a mere _tool_. It was an _identity_, a memory of times long gone and a reminder of times still to come.


	2. Snake

_A/N: Some people probably think that this one is a little obvious and yes, it kind of is, but snake was still a good mask to write. Sometimes it is just better to go along with canon than to make unnnecessary twists in a story._

_Ookami: Thanks for the praise and the comment. I hope you like this chapter.  
><em>

* * *

><p><strong>Snake - Hebi<strong>

The snake - _hebi_ - was a mask that had seen many battlefields. It had served its owner faithfully during the Second Shinobi World War, had lain dormant during the Third Shinobi World War and seen daylight again years before appearing in the Fourth Shinobi World War.

Snake had been manufactured by its first owner, something that was quite uncommon for not many shinobi were able to create a mask suitable for the task of being worn by an ANBU.

It had taken nine days to create _hebi_ as it took nine days to make any good ANBU mask. The creation process followed one of the oldest though least known proverbs in Konoha Gakure: "An ANBUs mask created in nine days will be faithful to you for ninety-nine years."

Abiding by the old wisdom had saved snake's first owner from death's clutch more than one time, though he had been a shinobi more skilled than most of those that came before and after him, his legacy not forgotten even fifty years after his death. The man had chosen his mask wisely, but left it without so much of a second thought when he betrayed the village that had been his home for more than twenty years.

He never officially retired from ANBU, but when Orochimaru of the Leaf became Orochimaru of the Sound he lost all claims he had never had on _hebi_.

So a young woman chose snake as her mask next, knowing of its gruesome history of blood, pain and betrayal.

She hated the mask as much as she learnt to love it, because for her it would always remind her of the teacher that had never been one and the fear of death breathing down her neck, along with cold tongue caressing her skin.

Anko knew how insane her sensei had been, and no matter how tainted he had left her she never did the things wearing _hebi_ that he had done. The pupil surpassed the teacher for she knew the real worth of the snake mask and not once coated it with the blood of the innocent like its creator had done so many times.

Unfortunately she didn't possess the same level of skill as her old teacher and one day she was just the merest bit of a second to late when an enemy ninja threw a poisoned kunai at her. She died in the arms of her team mates, her body and mask brought back to Konoha Gakure.

For a long time after that no one was brave enough to wear _hebi_, many young ANBU too afraid of its sinister legacy to even touch it.

Then, finally, after more than twenty years without an owner snake fell into the hands of a girl, not yet a woman. Like its two previous owners she summoned the snakes _hebi_ was molded and named after.

The young kunoichi looked at snake with curious, big green eyes when her gaze first fell on it and she was the first person to ever laugh genuinely as she inspected the mask that would be a part of her for the rest of her life.

As an ANBU reached by few in her career she was the one of its three owners that made snake famous for bringing peace over the world, for ending unnecessary battles and protecting the innocent from harm. There was no mission _hebi_ didn't accomplish, no task that seemed impossible and never a reason to give up.

Uchiha Midori wore snake from shortly after her seventeenth birthday until past her fortieth year ...when her dead body hit the ground _hebi_ shattered into a thousand pieces, giving free the view onto a pair of crimson Sharingan eyes and a smile that seemed to mock her deadly poisoned killer.


	3. Bird

_A/N: Okay, this one is probably even more obvious than snake, but I really like how it turned out. There is just too much drama in Naruto to let it go to waste._

_NinjaSheik Thanks for the comments. Oops, old habits die hard, I guess. :)_

* * *

><p><strong>Bird - Tori<strong>

One of the most familiar ANBU masks seen inside Konohagakure was bird - _tori_ - for it belonged to one of the oldest and most famous clans in all of fire country: the Hyuuga.

Bird had been created for a young Hyuuga man, branded by fate, blood and right of birth, and no one that wasn't a Hyuuga had ever dared to touch it since, knowing that it would bring them bad luck to come into contact with _tori_, the mask was told to be cursed like its carriers had been for all their life.

The man who had first worn bird had requested this mask and specifically asked for it to be modeled after a bird, saying that would fit him like no other mask ever could. No ANBU member said anything about it, because in the end the man was right when he said that he was like a bird, a caged bird that could fly in its prison but never be truly free.

He was the younger brother, born seconds after his twin and branded with the seal that he thought would forever keep him imprisoned when he was six. He was the one who screamed and rolled around on the floor in agony, his brother standing beside him motionless. He was the one who took the missions only a Hyuuga could succeed in while his brother sat at home and ruled their clan. He was branch and his brother main.

Hizashi Hyuuga needed thirty-two years to understand that it wasn't him but his brother who would never be free. He died to save Hiashi - his beloved twin brother - without regret, hoping that one day his son would understand, too.

His death changed the meaning behind _tori_… and it also was the start of the change in Hyuuga.

For ten years after that no one dared to touched bird, all of the new ANBU recruits knowing that the mask was patiently waiting for the dead second brother's son to come and pick it up. There was a silent agreement that either the young Hyuuga man would choose it or that bird would be forever lying there in the shadows, never to be used again.

But the day came and the young Hyuuga prodigy walked into the room that held all the ANBU masks from times long forgotten. Not one person had dared to tell him about his father's heritage resting there on the highest row of the last shelf - and no one needed to, for he found _tori_ on his own and traced it's markings with his fingers for a few long minutes before he lifted it off the shelf and left the room as quiet as he had entered it.

The young man was a good ANBU and without realizing it he made bird a proud mask.

Neji Hyuuga never cut down an enemy when it wasn't needed, he didn't look down on those he had killed in the mist of battle and he knew better than to boast with what he had done wearing _tori_, knowing that there was no pride in ending the lives of those who were weaker than him.

When he stepped down from his position in ANBU years later, carried bird back into the room filled with masks, placed it exactly on the spot he had picked it up from and bowed to his mask before leaving he proved himself worthier of _tori_ than any other man could have ever been.

It's next owner knew the masks history, knew the meaning of picking up bird, knew that he did it for the wrong reasons and still proceeded… because he also knew that if he didn't choose _tori_, his hate filled little sister would.

Above everything he loved her and knew if he didn't take the mask for himself his sister would, picking it up with cold eyes and grim determination because she thought that bird was a symbol of how they were nothing but the pawns of the main house, robbed of their chance to decide their own fate. He knew better.

Bird wasn't the young Hyuuga's first choice at the time, but he was forgiven immediately because he took it to protect the person he cared for the most in the world - he chose his village over himself before even becoming an ANBU and it was never forgotten.

Hizashi Hyuuga the second placed the mask his father and grandfather had worn before him back on its place in the last shelf not even a year after he had picked it up. He did it with a smile.

…the head of Hyuuga wasn't allowed to be an ANBU. His sister was free.


	4. Salamander

_A/N: This mask isn't as easy to figure out as the other two - or at least I hope so._

* * *

><p><strong>Salamander - Sanshoou<strong>

There were masks older than the salamander - _sanshoou_ - masks that had seen more battlegrounds and masks that had been worn by stronger shinobi ...despite all of this, salamander was the most famous of all the ANBU masks.

It's first owner had been a young man when _sanshoou_ was handed to him, though even at age nineteen he had been fatally ill and gone through the days knowing that he wouldn't live to reach the age of thirty. Coughs and seizures had plagued him even on his better days, but still he had carried out his duty for his village with pride, salamander covering his face and katana in hand to kill everyone that threatened his home.

Hayate Gekko did just that when he died, even though he wasn't wearing his mask the night he fought Baki of the sand and lost.

_Sanshoou_ had been lying back at the ANBU headquarters then, waiting for its owner to pick it up and use it again to protect his identity as well as the country of fire. When he didn't come back salamander waited for its owner... waited for more than twenty-five years to be worn again.

But the day finally came when another young man with glinting black eyes raised the dusk covered mask from its place in the shelf it had been laying in for far too long.

He was haughty, but also gentle and caring and he wore _sanshoou_ with the same pride he wore his name with. Free of the sins of his father the young man was, the first son of the one that they had called traitor for far longer than he deserved to be called.

Along with bird and toad salamander was worn for the better part of a decade this time. It were glorious days for the once forgotten mask and while the black haired man never made _sanshoou_ overly famous, or feared or hated it still were some of the best days any mask had ever had, because they were not wasted but cherished.

Taro Uchiha loved his mask probably more than any ANBU had before him, because it not only gave him a purpose but it also brought him the chance to protect his siblings, his family and his friends, the people he cared most for in the entire world. He didn't regret taking _sanshoou_ even once, knowing that being of Konoha's legendary ANBU gave him the opportunity to keep his loved ones save.

He never aspired for more and as a reward fate allowed him to live a long life, to watch his children and grandchildren grow and give away salamander at the day of his son's birth without regrets.

The first two owners of salamander wore it with pride ...the third did too, and he also made it infamous well beyond the borders of fire country.

Most ANBU were given their masks when they were young, some were barely out of their teens, the last owner of sanshoou though was given his mask when he was still a boy, fourteen years old and more than a head shorter than his shortest comrades.

All his life they called the boy a dreamer, a stubborn child that didn't know its limits. Many people told him that he would never archive his dream, that it was _impossible_ and that he better give up before he got hurt.

Staring down at _sanshoou_ the fourteen-year-old had known that they were wrong.

They had called him a genius from a very young age, a prodigy like Konoha had never seen one before - he had known that he wasn't however, that he only thing really extraordinary about him was his unmatched stubbornness. His grandfather had told him so once, when he had been on the verge of tears because the other kids had called him an idiot and laughed at his dream: "I knew a boy like you... when he was a child they laughed about him, they shunned him and treated him like dirt. When he was a man they carved his face into the Hokage monument."

Ryosuke Uchiha made _sanshoou_ the most famous mask of them all, because when they carved his head into the Hokage mountain they carved salamander into it as well, pushed up above his face for the world to see.


End file.
